THE DAY BEFORE by Lisa Schroeder: An Interview in Verse!

We're thrilled to help promote Lisa Schroeder's newest novel, The Day Before, for her Teen Book Scene blog tour! We had the chance to ask Lisa several questions -- without realizing until we got the answers she had to answer with lines from the book. Which is in verse. IMPRESSIVE!

Here's a summary of The Day Before:

Amber’s life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself. Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell he’s also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets. The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she’s drawn to him. And the more she’s troubled by his darkness. Because Cade’s not just living in the now—he’s living each moment like it’s his last.

-Have you always written verse, or was there a point later in your writing at which you realized verse was your author voice?

Later.

…hard to imagine
they’d be replaced
by new ones.

-What do you find so important and intriguing about contemporary YA, especially when so many of the "big" books are not contemp?

It’s life.

Sweet, beautiful
wind on your face,
air in your lungs,
kisses on your lips
life.

-You write YA in verse, and MG in prose. How do those processes - writing style, age, genre, even marketing - create different demands of you as an author?

They’re about
being me,
loving life,
finding joy,
playing hard,
taking risks,
and who knows what else.

To plan it all
would take away from
the fun and excitement
of what’s to come.

-Your YAs focus on characters connecting on deep levels. What elements of these intense connections appeal to you the most?

More tears fall.

Because I want him to be okay
and I want me to be okay
but mostly I don’t want him
to forget me.

-In The Day Before, Amber heads to the beach to escape personal concerns. Where is your escape place?

Oftentimes
when I read a book,
I want to savor
each word,
each phrase,
loving the prose
so much
I don’t want it
to end.

-Also in The Day Before, two characters are doing what they can to experience the best day possible. What does the best day consist of for you?

there is nothing in this world
except me
and the rhythm
and the music
and the display of fists
telling me that right now
everything is exactly
how it should be.

-If there was one historic event you could know every detail and secret about, and could then write a book about it, what event would you choose?

Warm, brown eyes.
Dimple in his cheek.
Red lips, chapped from the wind.

Oh my gosh, that was hard! Thanks so much for having me on your blog, I appreciate it!

Awesome interview. Lisa, you're an amazing writer. (And I gleaned that from one verse interview!) I was kind of confused about the last question though, as well as the "fists" in the second to last...Fantastic. :D